The Thousand Dollar DinnerAmerica’s First Great Cookery ChallengeA Lavish Seventeen-Course Meal that Launched a New Age of American Dining

"Diamond dishes out more than the menu of this remarkable meal, deconstructing each course with details of the class mores, cultural habits, and food preferences of elite 19th-century Americans. This tale of a Gilded Age mega-meal will delight culinary historians and anyone wanting a peek at over-the-top consumption." -- Publishers Weekly

"That long-ago dinner at Parkinson's Restaurant [is] engagingly resurrected, deconstructed and served up for modern readers by food historian Becky Libourel Diamond in 'The Thousand Dollar Dinner.' ... good for Ms. Diamond, a prudent and careful chronicler of one of the most deliciously over-the-top dinners ever served in America." -- Aram Bakshian Jr., The Wall Street Journal

"Diamond spiritedly deconstructs the food and drink from this lavish entertainment ... her sensible and sensitive detailed analyses of each of the dozens of dishes virtually materialize them for the reader’s sight, smell, taste, and touch." -- Booklist

“Drenched in Champagne and Cognac, The Thousand Dollar Dinner is a delicious taste of our country’s first restaurant revolution. An equally light and luxurious read, this book will leave every food fanatic and history buff hungry for more.”--Maureen Petrosky, author of The Wine Club and NBC Today Show Lifestyle Expert

In 1851, fifteen wealthy New Yorkers wanted to show a group of Philadelphia friends just how impressive a meal could be and took them to Delmonico’s, New York’s finest restaurant. They asked Lorenzo Delmonico to “astonish our Quaker City friends with the sumptuousness of our feast,” and assured him that money was no object, as the honor of New York was at stake. They were treated to a magnificent banquet, enjoyed by all. However, not to be outdone, the Philadelphia men invited the New Yorkers to a meal prepared by James W. Parkinson in their city. In what became known as the “Thousand Dollar Dinner,” Parkinson successfully rose to the challenge, creating a seventeen-course extravaganza featuring fresh salmon, baked rockfish, braised pigeon, turtle steaks, spring lamb, out-of-season fruits and vegetables, and desserts, all paired with rare wines and liquors. Midway through the twelve-hour meal, the New Yorkers declared Philadelphia the winner of their competition, and at several times stood in ovation to acknowledge the chef ’s mastery. In The Thousand Dollar Dinner: America’s First Great Cookery Challenge, research historian Becky Libourel Diamond presents the entire seventeen-course meal, course by course, explaining each dish and its history. A gastronomic turning point, Parkinson’s luxurious meal helped launch the era of grand banquets of the gilded age and established a new level of American culinary arts to rival those of Europe.